EU contributes €22.5 million to the PA’s payment of February salaries and pensions – EU Press release/Non-UN document

The EU contributes €22.5 million to the PA's payment of February salaries and pensions

The European Union is making today a contribution of approximately €22.5 million to the payment of the February 2012 salaries and pensions of just under 84,000 Palestinian civil servants and pensioners in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. This contribution, which is channelled through the PEGASE¹ mechanism, is being funded by the European Commission.

"This is the third contribution of the European Union this year to the Palestinian Authority's payment of salaries and pensions to ensure that key public services in education and health continue to be carried out", said EU Representative John Gatt-Rutter. "Later this month, at the Ad-Hoc Liaison Committee meeting in Brussels we will have the opportunity to discuss with other donors the severe economic challenges the PA is facing. The EU calls on all donors to provide their financial support to the PA in a timely and reliable manner", added the EU Representative.

Background Most of the European Union's assistance to the Palestinian Authority is channelled through PEGASE, the financial mechanism launched in 2008 to support the PA Reform and Development Plan (2008-2010) and the subsequent PA Palestinian National Plan (2011-2013). As well as helping to meet a substantial proportion of its running costs, European funds support major reform and development programmes in key ministries, to help prepare the PA for statehood in line with the plan put forward by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in August 2009. Since February 2008, €1.3 billion have been disbursed through the PEGASE Direct Financial Support programmes. In addition, the EU has provided assistance to the Palestinian people through UNRWA and a wide range of cooperation projects.

For further information in Arabic and English on the EU's assistance to the occupied Palestinian territory and the PEGASE mechanism, please visit: http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/westbank/

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¹Mécanisme Palestino-Européen de Gestion de l'Aide Socio-Economique (PEGASE)

Contacts: The Office of the European Union Representative: Antonia Zafeiri (02 5415 859, 0548 024 915) & Shadi Othman (02 5415 867, 0599 673 958)